Average house price in England and Wales approaching 2007 peak

The average house price in England and Wales is now just £3,500 off the peak of November 2007 thanks largely to a property price surge in London last month, according to the Land Registry.

The August data from Land Registry’s House Price Index shows an annual price increase of 8.4% across England and Wales, which takes the average property value to £177,824. In the house price peak of November 2007, the average property was priced at £181,383, it said.

The monthly rise was far more modest at 1% from July, the data showed, although this was markedly different in London where prices rose 2.7%. The capital also showed the greatest annual increase at 21.6%.

“As far as the Land Registry is concerned, the London property market shows no signs of slowing,” said Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients. “Prices rose 2.7% in August and 21.6% over the year, giving an average property price of £476,000.”

He added: “While there may be a slowdown in the £2m-plus market regarding concerns about a mansion tax if Labour win the general election, the mainstream market motors along with borrowers taking advantage of cheap mortgage rates and an improving economy, which brings better job security.”

The London data contradicts a number of recent house price surveys, which show a cooling in the capital’s property market. Hometrack reported that prices in London edged down 0.1% month-on-month in September, while the Rics survey for August reported that “price momentum in the London market has continued to soften”.

“Despite the robust Land Registry data, we stick to the view that house prices are likely to rise at a more retrained restrained rate over the coming months,” said Howard Archer, chief economist at IHS Global Insight.

“We expect house prices to increase by around 1.5% quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter of 2014 and see them rising by around 6% overall in 2015.”

More than 82,600 residential properties in England and Wales lodged for registration in August, the Land Registry said, ranging in price from £13,000 to £24.5m.